A: My relationship with music started as a way of avoiding gym class in middle school. We had the option of joining the band class or having to do what they called "The Wheel" which basically meant that eventually I'd have to be in gym class. That scared the shit out of me so I went to music class. Really quickly, though, I fell in love with it. I played the clarinet and picked up guitar about a year later. I was fortunate to live where I did in Florida because there is a performing arts high school in the area. I got accepted and joined the jazz band which ended up winning some national awards while I was there. I got to meet and perform with some truly incredible musicians, most of whom I'm still good friends with. After high school though I took a break and focused on my photography. While in college in New York City, I started to write more original songs and started singing - something I wasn't comfortable with for a long time. I would play songs for my art friends and they were all very encouraging and that really inspired me to keep at it. I'm now in grad school at Rhode Island School of Design hoping to get my MFA in Photography but the program is very nurturing and accepting that music is an intrinsic part of me so I'm excited to see how my music progresses while being here.

Q: As asolo artist how would you describe your creative process when it comes to songwriting?

A: It’s always about doing something that excites my ear. Sometimes that means that I'll close my eyes and put my fingers in some weird configuration to stumble onto a chord voicing I've never played before and seeing where that takes me. Sometimes it's hearing a fun melody in my head and figuring out how I can take it to an unexpected place for myself. Once that initial spark happens, I'll spend a lot of time repeating it over and over trying to hear in my head where it should go. Most of the time it doesn't go anywhere so I have tons of recordings on my phone of just like two bars of an idea repeating for a while. Every once in a while though I'll have a breakthrough and it goes somewhere that makes me laugh and that always gets me excited. It'll really quickly come together after that and I'll have a song. The hard part is making sure my phone is recording and I don't forget what I was playing. I always have to speak into the phone telling myself, "Ok. Capo on the 3rd, 11th fret moving towards the 3rd with the G open." Otherwise I'll listen back and be like how the fuck did I play that?

Q: You have been working on some new music since you released The Reichstag Fire. Can you tell us a little about what to expect?

A: I really want it to be different than Reichstag. I'm trying to approach music differently and really focus on the melody before anything else. I'm really into Stereolab and writing stuff that has cool counter melodies bouncing off bubbly chords and playful bass lines. It's kind of weird because it feels like I'm going from being stuck in the woods to going to candy and for vacation, musically speaking. Hopefully I figure out how to make the two different worlds blur into one space that's cohesive. Wish me luck!

Q: You are also releasing a joint EP with the artist Ryan Knockedout. Is that an entirely different project? What was your experience like working with another artist?

A: Ryan is a great friend of mine. We started making stuff together when I was still in high school so it was really cool to be back in the studio with him. What we did for that was we both recorded three songs. A new song, an acoustic version of a song from our last releases, and a cover of one of each other's songs. It was fun learning one of his songs and trying to make my version better; there was a playful element of competition that we enjoyed. Of course we wanted each other to do well, but I think we secretly were hoping the other would do less good. It makes me laugh to remember; I was going in to record and Ryan looks at me and he goes if you fuck up you're paying for the studio time. I made sure I got that song in one take.

Q: You are also releasing an online live concert. Can you tell some details about this and where the audience can watch?

A: Oh boy. Ryan and I recorded some live sets before I left for Providence and we both did pretty well. However something's up with the file so I'm trying to see what I can do to fix it so the release for that is indefinitely on hold. Bummer. Guess that just means I gotta go get on a stage.

Q: What else do we need to know about? Will you be touring? Or doing anymore collaborations?

A: If you're in the Providence area, I'm gonna start playing some live shows around town once I get fully settled in. I'll be working on my first full length, hoping I can release that in the next year or so. In the meantime I'll be putting out a lot of photographs. If all goes as planned once the full length is out, I'll be going on an east coast tour with another band. You can stay updated with my website: armandozamora.com or my Instagram full of selfies and existential thoughts: @sentientcomputer.